When Woodwards catalogue of the Randall Collection comes out, you will have an opportunity of adding some gems to your cabinet. — Harold P. Newlin to T. Harrison Garrett, May 16, 1885.One of the most stunning examples of this design type known to exist, almost certainly the finest example of this date known, though the only other claimants to the throne are also present in this landmark offering. Spectacularly deep and complex tones frame the obverse, embracing sunset gold and magenta, with hints of forest green and amber orange surrounding violet and pastel blue at the center -- the sort of toning only years of custodianship and patience can create. The reverse, perhaps the side that saw more limited environmental exposure against a drawer in the Garrett Family cabinet, is subtler but no less magnificent, toned rich gray with pale gold, sky blue, and rustic olive. The cartwheel luster seems limitless, spinning over super frosty surfaces. Crisply struck from fresh dies, the fragile raised die lines visible in the reverse fields confirm this as the product of an extremely early die state. Libertys profile is slightly doubled, a phenomenon that has long been observed but rarely explained. A few light marks are concentrated in the lower half of the left obverse field, and some trivial hairlines are seen on the relief of the portrait, but are invisible without a lens and are unobtrusive even when magnification is used. The reverse is nearly immaculate, with careful study finding just three individual tiny contact points behind the eagles head.A coin of legendary quality, with a legendary provenance to match, this piece came from the collection of the pioneering early silver specialist J. Colvin Randall. Its quality was fine enough that neither T. Harrison Garrett nor his sons ever saw fit to acquire another 1819 half dollar after this was purchased. Harold P. Newlin, a Garrett auction representative, acquired this coin for just 95 cents in Woodwards sale of the Randall coins, though letters between Newlin and Garrett preserved in the American Numismatic Society indicate that Garrett was prepared to spend as much as $2 on it. W. Elliot Woodward described it, simply, as "Uncirc." Today, it tops both the Overton-Parsley Condition Census and Herrmans listings of specimens sold at auction. PCGS has graded just one 1819 half dollar, along with two 1819/8 half dollars, at the MS-66 level, with none finer. All three of those coins are included in this offering of the D. Brent Pogue Collection.
